Within Defiance | A Hunger Games Fanfiction

The Reaping

The harsh summer sun finds its way through one of the few windows in my family's house, which is coated in a mixture of dust and dirt, to my sleep deprived eyes and face. The harsh change of lighting causes my eyes to twitch which pulls me out of my sleepy daze and back to reality. I turn over, this time with my back flat against my bed and my eyes staring straight up at the mould patch in the ceiling. 'Better get up with it being reaping day and all' I think to myself as I drag myself to the side of the bed and allow my feet to fall to the floor. I pull on some worn sandals that used to be fathers that he out grew a few years back, before making my way out of my small shed of a room into our main family room which doubles as a kitchen.

My tongue feels really dry so I go into one of the few cabinets in the corner of the family room to retrieve a small clay cup and filling it with room temperature water from our small bucket which we use to gather water from the districts water pump. With nothing to do I go to lay back into one of the few wooden chairs which are in the family room, that is until I notice the small gap that's between the door and the doorframe. In my mind I've already figure out how that came to be. "God sake Barley will you ever stop getting out" I mutter under my breath as I place the cup down on a small table before running outside still in my sleep wear. I look down to see small scratches and paw print engraved on the dry, compact dirt pathway. I don't even hesitate before I jog down the path, using the trail hoping that it will lead me straight to their owner.

I realise I've ended up running further than I expect when I stop to take a break from running and look to my left to see the tall electric fence which marks the edge of District 9. I check back up on the trails and am displeased to say the least when I see that they lead straight through a small gap that lays between the hard ground and the bottom of the wired fence. I walk the rest of the way stopping short at the boarding, leaving only a few centimetres between me and the fencing which is no doubt charged with high volts of electricity. "No way through that" I mumble as I scan the nearby area for anything I can use to help me in my precarious situation. 'Unless...' I think to myself as I crouch down to retrieve a large branch from the ground a start to wedge it into the ground and the buzzing fencing. It takes a few moments for me to get the positioning right, but soon enough I have it rigged so the branch has raised up the lower wires of fencing 10 inches or so while still stably planted in the cracked earth. "It now or never I guess" I say aloud, doing one last check for peacekeepers or unwanted spying eyes before kneeling down and lying down on my stomach. Slowly but surely I wiggle my way under the wires, with the buzz of the electricity filling my ears causing them to ring.

When I am safe and clear of the fence, I slightly stand before darting into the cover of the woods and out of sight. I quickly glance back at district board to check no one caught me in this highly illegal act. With no signs of any danger coming my way, I glance down at the ground in hopes of finding the other half of Barley's trail. When I don't immediately spot any tell-tale sign that he has been here I start to panic at the thought of losing my sisters pet and mother's last present to her daughter before her pasting. "C'mon... C'mon" I repeat trying to calm myself while continuing to fumble around the greenery in hopes to find Barley or some prints at the least. Luckily for me I find just that moments later. Small prints in the moist mud lead me further into the patchy woodland and further away from my district. I follow the trail for a while until it suddenly comes to a stop at the bottom of a tree. The prints look like all hell has been let loose with them point all different directions. I quietly, yet quickly scan the horizon for my family pet but with no luck. Half defeat, I stand close to the tree and look up before calling out "Barley, you up there. Barley". I add a whistle for good measure and sure enough a small hazel coloured snout pokes over the edge of a branch near the trunk. For my small victory I allow myself a smile as I climb the tree to retrieve the small ferret from nature's clutches. While climbing I realise that this isn't any ordinary tree, it's an pear tree.